Nassau Lease Hangs On Vote

The NHL’s New York Islanders are staying put in Uniondale, N.Y., as long as voters agree to build a new arena at the site of the of Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum.

Officials for Nassau County and the Islanders announced a new lease agreement June 21 that would see the team remain in the region through 2045 at a new venue.

“This historic agreement retains our New York Islanders while ensuring that residents earn dividends should they vote to invest in Nassau County’s future,” county executive Edward Mangano said in a statement. “From Islander tickets to concert tickets, pretzels to hot dogs, Nassau County will share in a portion of dollars spent at the new arena that residents will own. The construction of a new arena will retain and create thousands of jobs and be a catalyst to generate the revenue needed to hold the line on property taxes.”

County residents will be presented with a public referendum on the project Aug. 1.

Should they approve the construction, taxpayers would be guaranteed 11.5 percent of the money generated at all events at the venue, the statement said. Over the facility’s 30-year lease term, the county could apparently earn more than $400 million from the revenue-sharing agreement, according to an independent economic impact report from Camoin Associates.

Demolition of the aging Memorial Coliseum and construction of a new venue is expected to cost $350 million.